THE ROOTS & LIVE NATION URBAN ANNOUNCE THE ROOTS PICNIC 2026

“Hip-Hop’s Greatest Festival”

– ROLLING STONE

“one of the most heartfelt dedications to the breadth of Black music”

– BILLBOARD

“exists in a lane all of its own”

– ESSENCE

On Saturday, May 30th JAŸ- Z will headline, performing with The Roots for the first time in over a decade.  On Sunday, May 31st, the headliner will be crowd favorite Erykah Badu.  Other performers include Kehlani, returning to the Roots Picnic stage for the first time in a decade, R&B icon Brandy, making her Roots Picnic debut, TI, De La Soul, Mariah The Scientist, Philly’s own DJ Jazzy Jeff, a Celebration off 50th Anniversary of Go Go Music with an All Star band,  plus much more.

This will also mark the first year the festival will be held at the historic Belmont Plateau in Philadelphia’s Fairmount Park. Belmont Plateau, is known for having one of the best views of the city and is a place where hip hop and black culture flourished in the 1980s and early 90s.

Last year’s sold-out Roots Picnic showcased unforgettable sets from icons like award-winning artist and all around multi-hyphenate icon Lenny Kravitz,  Memphis raptress GloRilla, and some of rap and R&B’s bests, Tems, Latto, Kaytranada, Jeezy, Pusha T, 2 Chainz, Musiq Soulchild, Kur, Elmiene, Jagged Edge, Backyard Band featuring CeeLo Green, Crystal Waters, Lay Banks, and Laila!

“Moving the Roots Picnic to Belmont Plateau and bringing Jay-Z and The Roots together to perform are both bucket-list moments for us,” Manager of The Roots and President of Live Nation Urban Shawn Gee exclaimed. “After meeting with Mayor Cherelle Parker and hearing her vision for Philly 250, she truly inspired us to dream even bigger, and we’re grateful to her, Commissioner Susan Slawson, Jazelle Jones and everyone who helped make it happen. We can’t wait to see everyone in May at the Plat.”

2025 Roots Picnic Photos | Download HERE

Since launching in 2007, The Roots Picnic has stood at the crossroads of music and culture, entertaining, engaging, and enlightening millions of fans along the way. Its dynamic lineups have included everyone from Lil Wayne, The Weeknd, Pharrell, Snoop Dogg, Phantogram, Usher, Nas, A$AP Rocky, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, and Future to Vampire Weekend, The War on Drugs, Gary Clark, Jr., Solange, Diplo, Gnarls Barkley, and more. Roots Picnic isn’t just a cornerstone of the group’s career, but a cornerstone of the culture.

Live Nation Urban (LNU) remains North America’s preeminent producer of concert experiences, festivals, and platforms headlined, curated, and owned by black talent. Operating in partnership with Live Nation Entertainment, the world’s leading live entertainment company, the company sets the tone for culture with over a dozen sought-after festival brands such as Roots Picnic, Broccoli City, Exodus Music & Arts Festival, ONE Musicfest, Strength of a Woman, and more.

Beyond their captivating live events, Live Nation Urban has established themselves as key social architects in black culture with their innovative initiatives that include Juneteenth: A Global Celebration (broadcast on CNN), Kerry Washington’s THICKER THAN WATER book tour, and a special Hip-Hop 50 event at the home of Vice President Kamala Harris in addition to tours by artists such as Ari Lennox, Kirk Franklin, Davido, LL Cool J, Jill Scott, Jodeci, and Raphael Saadiq. The LNU-produced “A Grammy Salute to 50 Years of Hip-Hop” special garnered a nomination at the NAACP Image Awards for “Outstanding Variety Show.” Live Nation Urban continues to grow across hip-hop, R&B, soul, and gospel as the most trusted purveyor of live urban music. For additional information, visit https://livenationurban.com/.